Things learned after a morning with my three-year-old son and the Nerf arsenal:

1) 1/2in PVC works... well enough for a blowgun with Accufakes, but could be better. I should consider either a printed choke or something to reduce the inner diameter.2) I should probably make Kiddo a boffer too so he stops whacking me in the shins with a lightsaber.3) The Sharpshooter II is not bad with Crayola barrels and Elite darts. Too hard for Kiddo to prime, though.4) A recent toddler-backed study finds the green ZombieStrike darts are made of "sticky stuff."5) Little fingers are great at removing the heads from Mega darts.6) Disc blasters are still fun.7) Eliminators are still kind of crappy.8) I should bolt a Jolt onto my Proton.9) Romo's vintage Bow and Arrow works just fine with Big Bad Bow arrows, and is scary with Elite darts.10) Yamix 12-dart mags seem to work okay, and look good in red and purple.11) The Rebelle Secret Shot actually works fine for Kiddo and looks rad if he puts it over his shoulder.12) I really need to work on those rice bag Stunners, if only for Kiddo to have something soft to throw at me for a change.

Also, completely without prompting, my boy looked out the upstairs window and said it looked pretty. It really is nice to have some clouds in the sky for a change.

: Mention something from KPCC or Rachel Maddow: Go on about Homeworld for X posts

Okay, now my headache has lasted 10 days. I spent a day in ER and they wanted to give me an MRI but I left first, and now my PCP won't order the MRI until maybe later, and I'm just sitting here terrified and feeling bad every day.

Where's the headache at, if I may ask? While I haven't suffered from anything I would consider a migraine in many years, I have become adjusted to regular forehead and whatever right behind the eyes is called pressure from just generally bad movement of all liquids and gases in that area.

I got a series of tests for new pains on the temples and around the ears that I eventually learned was a symptom of oral inflammation because I clench my teeth too much.

If it's in the crown to lower neck area, lemme know what they say, because my doctors are basically "idk, looks fine".

For the first 6 or 7 days it was on the top back of my head, left side. Now it's just sort of encircling my whole head less painfully, mostly, also lower back head.The stress and fear are what are really screwing me up, though. Stomach feels _awful_.

The last week or so I've been looking at how actually realistic it would be for me to get a new car. The financial power went to my head and I spent a few hours looking at real numbers for getting the absolute least expensive home anywhere on the island. I now understand why people will play the lottery every day.

Starr and I noticed something at the grocery store today. Couldn't find the "What is the saddest thing?" thread, but I guess that would have been some frozen-north (fantasy franchise of your choice) levels of necromancy.

Getting an MRI wasn't actually that objectively bad. But I tensed up so hard that the entirety of my legs and arms "fell asleep" in that no-circulation way, took almost 10 minutes afterward to be able to use my hands. It's an unpleasant sensation to feel your entire body losing circulation while you're being told to remain motionless.